A typical house cleaning involves sweeping, dusting surfaces, mopping floors, emptying trash cans, and lots more.
These chores can be tedious and time-consuming and most people don’t have the time.
Most Nigerians, especially people that live in big cities like Lagos, leave their houses as early as 5 am to beat traffic and come back as late as 9 pm.
Some even work on weekends leaving them little or no time to tidy up their houses to their heart’s content.
The unavailability of time makes people outsource the cleaning of their houses. This is where professional house cleaning services come in.
It entails taking care of people’s cleaning needs mainly in their houses.
Your services will always be needed because an unclean house breeds germs, germs cause diseases and diseases sometimes lead to death.
And this business model has proven over time to be lucrative and has low start-up costs.
Have you been looking to start a small business with low capital? Then you should consider house cleaning services.
Within this article is how to start a house cleaning business, the equipment you need, starting costs, and other things needed to successfully run a house cleaning business.
But first, let’s take a look at the major house cleaning services.
Table of Contents
Types of House Cleaning Services
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Deep cleaning
It involves getting rid of hard stains and dirt that have accumulated over time. This kind of cleaning focuses on hard-to-reach areas.
Areas like stove tops, kitchen cabinets, toilet bowls, etc. Washing shower curtains and scrubbing bathroom walls among others are also involved in deep cleaning.
These places or things people don’t clean often hide germs and bacteria that may cause life-threatening illnesses. As a professional, your job is to get rid of them.
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Move In/Out cleaning
Moving can be stressful. Having to clean a new apartment or office space coupled with moving can even be more stressful.
That is why people would rather employ professionals for that, because who likes stress?
Your job will be sweeping the floor, mopping, dusting cobwebs, and washing the floor and other areas.
This kind of cleaning can also be called a vacancy cleaning service.
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Routine cleaning
As the name implies, this type of cleaning service entails going to your employer’s house weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. It depends on your agreement with them.
Read also: A Simple Guide to Starting a Small Chops Business in Nigeria.
House Cleaning Service Equipment
Now, let’s take a look at the essential house cleaning service equipment:
- Vacuum cleaner
- Cloth rags
- Toilet brush
- Brooms
- Mops
- Furniture polish
- Spray bottle
- Wet Floor signs
- Window cleaner
- Dustpan
- Dusters
- Dish-washing liquid
- Air freshener
- Laundry bags
- Rubber gloves
- Cleaning chemicals
How to Start a House Cleaning Service Business in Nigeria
Here are the step-by-step guidelines on how to start a house cleaning service business in Nigeria:
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Conduct your market research
You might think “why should I conduct research when it’s just a cleaning business”?
Well, you need research to start any business whatsoever and this one isn’t an exemption.
Conducting market research helps you identify demand for cleaning services, pricing, and the competition.
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Create a business plan
Starting a house cleaning service needs you to make plans for your business. By doing this, you outline your goals and strategies.
Financial projections are also part of your business plan. Without a plan, you’re directionless.
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Register your business
This is common advice when starting your business. It isn’t “necessary” to register a new business but important. It gives you credibility and paves the way to get more clients.
The C.A.C. is responsible for registering businesses in Nigeria.
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Develop a pricing strategy
It is important to do this before setting out. You can check out the competition’s pricing strategy before making your decision.
If you don’t stand your ground regarding your pricing policy, you might get underpaid.
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Hire people to work with you
Cleaning can be stressful and you certainly can’t do it alone. So, hiring hands to work with you is necessary.
But you have to be careful here because you don’t want to employ people who won’t make you look professional. Hiring people who are physically fit should be your priority.
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Purchase supplies and equipment
The next thing to do when starting a cleaning service business is to buy the necessary equipment which has been listed above.
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Establish a marketing strategy
Starting a business without a concrete marketing plan means setting out to fail. Before you start, you have to map out a plan that will help market your service.
If starting on a small scale, nothing fancy, you can employ the word-of-mouth strategy. Handing out fliers is a little bit outdated but it works too.
Going on a larger scale, radio and television advertisements give back a larger ROI(return on investment) than using print media.
You can also make use of social media in your house cleaning service business. Platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and the like.
Social media marketing is highly effective when you know your target audience, identify their needs and provide them with the best solution.
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Launch your business
Now that everything is set, it’s time to kick-start your business.
Providing excellent customer service is key when starting so that getting referrals and testimonials won’t be a problem. Establish a good reputation and watch your business grow.
Sponsor your business on Insight.ng for a wider reach of your target audience.
Cost of Starting a Professional House Cleaning Service Business in Nigeria
The start-up cost of a cleaning business depends on the type of cleaning service you want to render.
But talking about a house cleaning service, you’ll need no less than N70,000. This is to purchase essential equipment and supplies.
On a large scale, your budget should be N150,000. This is for equipment, CAC registration which is N20,000, storage space, and other expenses.
Read also: Agile Project Management; why it is good for your business.
Skills Required for Starting a Professional House Cleaning Service Business
You might be wondering if you need any sort of skill for a cleaning business. Yes, you do.
You do house chores in your house too but handling someone else’s cleaning isn’t the same as you do for yourself.
You might not pay attention to scrubbing well or sweeping a place sparkling clean etc. Here are some skills that can be of great help to your cleaning service business.
- Paying attention to details
- Ability to use modern cleaning tools like vacuum cleaners, steam cleaners, etc.
- How to handle cleaning chemicals safely
- Teamwork
Final Thoughts
A house cleaning service business is a lucrative business you should look into. You have read in this article how to start, the equipment you need, and other things.
You have also learned to leverage social media in taking your business to great heights.
However, to succeed in this business, you must be fully prepared for the challenges that come with it to be able to tackle it end.
By implementing what you’ve learned from here, you can build a long-lasting house cleaning service in Nigeria.
Did you find this helpful? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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About Author
- I'm Anu, a Microbiology student at Obafemi Awolowo University. A content writer, copywriter, and fashion enthusiast. Reading, traveling, meeting new people is what I love doing. I believe in self-development and purpose.
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2 comments
This article was very nice and useful. Thanks a lot
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Gloria. You can check our other articles that suit your interests. You can also join our whatsapp community to get updates on our new posts.